St. Mary Election Day bake sale benefits hurricane victims and school's students

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

Posted Nov. 7, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

Posted Nov. 7, 2012 at 3:15 AM

DOVER — St. Mary Academy students celebrated the nation's right to vote by hosting a bake sale not far from one of the city's busy voting wards featuring election day-themed treats.

Romney raisin cookies, Barack Obama banana muffins, nonpartisan popcorn and a host of other goodies filled a table outside the school near Central Avenue where students were raising funds to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims, the eighth-grade class trip and the Student Council.

Selling out before the others, nonpartisan popcorn was the most popular item of the day.

As people and motorists passed by, a steady stream of voters also exited the polls at nearby Ward 2 and took a moment to look over the treats.

Eighth-grader Christopher Thompson even brought a plate of snacks to a motorist who Dromey-Heeter had convinced to stop for a moment to consider a purchase.

“It's a great community builder,” she said.

She said the students definitely took advantage of their location when considering where to hold Tuesday's bake sale. And their cleverness paid off.

“It's been a really good day,” she said.

Meanwhile, a mock election was taking place inside the school where students cast their own votes just as their parents would throughout the day for their chosen candidates.

Next door at First Parish Church, Dover's Ward 2 had seen 1,307 voters by nearly 3 p.m. and was in the middle of assisting a voter dismayed with the voter ID law.

While that resident declined to be interviewed by Foster's, she was vocal about her shock to learn that even longtime residents were required to show a photo ID, an action she considered an inconvenience.

But no one was unhappy about the treats for sale at SMA and the effort put forth by students who had reportedly done most of the baking.

“It's nice to see a lot of people and see the amount of people voting,” Dromey-Heeter said.